My Target, My Savior
by LightspeedArcher
Summary: Nathan was a Hydra agent tasked with asset recovery or sanitation. He was the one who took care of loose ends and he never failed. Until he was sent after Experiment 29. Set just before and runs through Winter Soldier. Rated T for some violence, but that's it.
1. My Mission

Once upon a time, actually just a week, but it sure seems like a long time ago, I was a Hydra agent and I was doing great. No one was better that me at my job, I never failed. I had earned my own squad and they were the best after me. Officially, I was an asset recovery agent. What that means is I was the one sent after defectors and other hazards to Hydra's plans. So really I had been an assassin. Note the past tense.

My name is Nathan. Here's what happened starting a week ago.

I stepped out of the helicopter after another successful all night mission looking forward to a really long nap. Behind me, my men were bringing in our gear and a long heavy bag. We never left any evidence. The bag would be sent to the incinerator and just like that, whoever he was had never existed.

"Nate!" Someone was yelling for me. I groaned and turned to see who had called me. It was Alan. I stifled another groan. He was holding a file and waving it at me. I walked over to him reluctantly. Alan was a great guy, I'd trust him with anything. His one problem was his position. He was nobody, just the guy who ran paperwork around and delivered messages. No nap today.

As soon as I was close enough, Alan started talking. "Sir, a person has escaped containment and the brass want your team to get her back ASAP."

I took the file and tiredly flipped through it. There wasn't much and I was too tired to try and read what was there. I turned back to Alan. "OK, who is it? Escaped prisoner? Defecter?"

Alan shook his head. "No, she's an experiment subject. She managed to get out somehow and she may try to go to S.H.I.E.L.D. This is very high priority."

"Oh, ok. An escaped experiment. That's different." I frowned." The team needs rest before we can head out again. We'll start early tomorrow. Say 0700 hours." I walked off to brief my team.

They were not happy about two missions so close together, but didn't argue. I stayed up a little longer to help clean and repack our gear. Finally we all headed to dinner or our rooms. I went straight to my room. Being team leader, I had my own. I took a very fast hot shower and collapsed onto my bed.

I was so exhausted I couldn't remember which nightmare finally woke me up. I glanced at my clock. It read seven am. I was late. Ten minutes later, I was checking make sure the rest of my team was awake. Most weren't and I had to get them up. Thirty minutes after that, we were all loading into the helicopter. The pilot was not happy with our timing. I shrugged him off and stretched out as far as I could in my seat to start reading through my target's file.

We were after a teenage female called Experiment 29, one of the few survivors of Baron Strucker's many experiments. There was a brief description of the target. Dark blond hair, hazel eyes, and a little over five feet tall. Her current location was not certain, but she had last been seen near a riverside cottage in a forest yesterday afternoon. That was where we were headed now. She was to be considered very dangerous and shot on sight from a distance, but there was no explanation why.

So it would be a sniper mission. Once we located the target, I'd have the team spread out around her with their rifles and we'd take her down simultaneously. I passed the file to the man next to me, Janson, and instructed him to wake me when we were ten minutes out. Then I went to sleep.

An hour later, Janson woke me up. I confirmed that they had all read the file and walked them through my plan. I finished just as the pilot called five minutes. We all moved to the back of the 'copter and got ready to jump out. We were inserting onto the narrow riverbank and there wasn't enough space for the helicopter to land. So instead the pilot would hover over the river and we would jump out onto the bank. The pilot gave me the ten second warning and I started countdown.

On one, the first man jumped out and sprinted for the trees. The rest followed, I was last out. I waved thanks to the pilot and jumped onto the ground. I ducked under a low tree branch and signaled the team to start moving. It took us a little over an hour to reach the cottage. Once we did, I signaled the team to move into position along the perimeter.

We watched the building for a while, but there was no movement that we could see. All the curtains were drawn, though. Finally, I signaled a couple guys to come with me and we headed down. We checked the area around the house and then went to the door. It was stuck closed and didn't budge when we tried to break it down. I walked over to a window and broke it in, but there was a bookshelf or something behind it. I motioned the others to help me find a window that wasn't blocked.

Eventually, Janson found a small window that was unblocked. It was really high up and small, probably a bathroom window. I had a guy who could fit through it up with the other snipers. I jogged over to the trees and explained the situation. We started back to the window.

We were still about fifteen feet away when the cottage exploded. I saw it go up in flames and the debris start flying out at me. Then I was slammed against the dirt and blacked out.


	2. Experiment 29

When I woke, I was back at headquarters in the hospital wing. I tried to get up, but a nurse popped up out of nowhere and stopped me. I tried to explain how important it was that I get back to tracking down my target, but she cut me off.

"I'm sure you are engaged in the most important mission ever, sir, but I still need you to wait until you heal. You were cut very deep with multiple glass shards and other debris and you have a few broken ribs. Your team told me to inform you that they are monitoring satellites to find the target, but that's all you get to know." She gave me a shot of something while she was still talking and I fell back asleep.

When I woke the next time, the nurse was occupied with a patient at the other end of the room, so I quickly and silently detached the IV and slid out of my bed. I crept out the door just as she turned back towards me. I hurried down the hall. It wouldn't take her long to notice my absence. There weren't many people in the hospital wing right now.

I hurried to my room, ignoring the weird looks everyone gave me and really hoping I didn't run into any high up officers or nurses. I didn't, barely. I heard people greeting some high up person or other down one hall, but I passed it in time. I reached my room and took a long shower. Once I finished, I changed into my usual casual clothes. Black cargo pants, black T-shirt, my boots, and my leather jacket. It was a very nice jacket and I was very proud of it. Lastly, I tucked my pistol into my belt.

That done, I started towards the mess hall. To check for my team, of course. I got there just as they were about to stop serving lunch and managed to get a tray. I spotted my team at our usual table and walked over to sit with them. I noticed right away how almost half the table was empty. One of the guys saw me approaching and waved. I semi waved back while balancing my tray and took my usual seat.

The one who had waved, his name is Hancock, started explaining what they had done while I had been out.

"Sir, we've got satellites scanning for the target, but I don't think it'll work. We just haven't been given enough information to go on. We also have our people in S.H.I.E.L.D. watching for her to show up. If she does, they'll stall her until we can get there. Clark's in the command room trying to figure out what else to do."

I looked up. "Clark? Why's she in charge? Where's Janson?" As soon as I asked the question, though, I knew the answer and why the table was so empty. Janson and the others had been too close to the building. I had been too close. That I was alive was miracle enough, the others weren't so lucky. "Nevermind." I said. They didn't seem eager to discuss it anyway.

After a moment, I returned to my meal. I finished quickly and left to the command room, depositing my tray as I went. I had to make a detour to avoid the nurse from the hospital wing and ducked into one of the break rooms. These weren't official break rooms, we didn't have any of those. These were sleeping quarters that the inhabitants were out on missions or had agreed to lend out as hiding spots for a nap or card game. The men inside looked up at my entrance, but once assured I wasn't an officer about to call them out, they returned to their conversation. I sat down and listened.

"So I was sayin', word is we may get chocolate cake or somethin' what with the Hydra anniversary comin' up. Hail Hydra!" The soldier added with the two fisted salute. The others responded enthusiastically and continued discussing chocolate delicacies they enjoyed. Out in the field, I didn't make my team constantly salute to every mention of Hydra or achievement of any kind. It was a dead give away who we really were and it was just inconvenient to have to drop everything and use both hands to salute. I would have to get back in the habit of it while I was back at base.

Sometime later, I woke up. Some of the men had changed out and the conversation had changed as well. One guy was talking in hushed tones about experiment subjects. I listened closer.

"I heard one may have escaped. Flew straight out and the guards were all asleep when it happened. Supposedly, there're some left still though. One who runs faster than anything and one who can move things just by a thought! They're calling them enhanced, but they're just freaks really."

I got up and left, thinking over what I had heard. One who escaped, flew straight out. Possibly my target. If that soldier was to be trusted, it sounded like 29 had snuck out at night past a sleepy guard and escaped by flying. That was more than the file had told me. Now if I could confirm that, it'd be really helpful. I turned towards the command room.

I entered the room and walked over to Clark. "Talk to me. What's been happening?"

"Priority on the mission has gone up higher. The other subjects are starting to feel rebellious now that 29 hasn't been caught yet. They think they could get away with running and that can't happen. We need her caught by the end of the week at latest. To do that we are monitoring satellites, though we aren't sure what to look for and we have men watching."

I nodded. "Ok. About the target itself, I heard a rumor that she has flight capabilities. Is that true?"

Clark shrugged. "I don't know. No one's telling me or anyone anything. It's ridiculous because we're just going to eliminate her and we'll find out eventually one way or the other. This just makes it harder and take longer."

I nodded again. "For example, they could have told us she knew how to set up explosives." I frowned.

Clark looked at me carefully. "Exactly. It's not your fault. It's theirs. Actually it's hers. Not yours, Nate."

I shrugged noncommittally. I had been in command. My men had died. In the end, the responsibility fell on me. All I could do now was avenge them.

"I'm also going to try to send out drones to circle out from the area and see if we can find anything while we wait for the satellites to get in position. Since we have higher priority now, I might be able to." Clark added.

"Good idea." I agreed. "Let me know if anything comes up, I'm going to head to the gym." I walked out of the room. I tried not to let it show, but losing so many men had hit hard. I had to stay focused on the mission. I could grieve once it was completed.

I entered the gym and started out on the treadmill. I rotated around the equipment to distract myself. It kind of worked. After a couple hours, someone came in to get me. I toweled off and hurried to the command room.

Clark was studying a screen. She motioned to the techie next to her and muttered, "Zoom in on that blur as much as you can and try to clean it up." She looked up at my approach. "We may have found something. It was your flying tip that actually did it. Check this out." She motioned to the screen.

I leaned in. It was an image of the river that ran by the cottage, only much farther on. Over the edge of the water and just visible past the tree branches, there was a blur of color. As the techie cleared the image, I saw the blur was shaped somewhat like a cross. The shorter horizontal line was thicker and lighter colored than the other line. As it cleared farther, I could make out more detail. The shape appeared like a person with wings.

"Yeah, that's definitely worth checking out. Do you know if and where it landed?" I asked.

The techie answered. "Yes, sir. About forty miles Northeast from the cottage."

"Great. Clark, get the team moving. I want them out on the airfield in twenty." I glanced at the techie's nametag. "Jack, let me know if there's any change."

"Wait!" Clark called. "Nathan, you're still injured. Are you sure you want to go on…"

"Yes." I interrupted. "Clark, this is still my mission. I will complete it." I turned and headed out to collect my gear and find a pilot.

Thirty minutes later, we were taking off. I turned to my team. "Alright. This time we're taking no chances. Scan any buildings for heat signatures and we just blow the door and storm it. One sign of trouble, warn the team and get clear. Any sign of the target, shoot to kill. Hail Hydra!"

"Hail Hydra." My team chorused back.

We landed two miles from the target location and jogged in. It only took us fifteen minutes with all our gear, but it felt like too long to me. Every minute was one more for the target to prepare another trap. We arrived at the landing point and spread out to search for any sign of life.

Eventually, a call came over the radio. "Team, this is Fred. I've located a fire pit and campsite. Lead, you may want to check it out."

I headed to Fred's position. Sure enough, there was a small fire pit with a green leafy cover over it to minimize smoke escaping and revealing the location. The ashes were still slightly warm to the touch. The target wasn't far. I clapped Fred on the shoulder and searched for some sort of shelter. I found one up in a high tree branch. I could barely see it, but it looked simple. The branch was easily thick enough to lay down on and the branches overhead provided cover.

" _Skilled in explosives and basic survival?"_ I mused. " _Great. What next?"_

As I finished that thought, I spotted a furtive movement from the corner of my eye. I spun and brought my rifle up to my eye. Through the scope, I saw a female figure step out from behind a tree and spread out feathery white wings. The figure opened it's mouth and a single note, high and clear, rang out. I started to pull back on the trigger, but my finger wouldn't move. I couldn't move anything. I sensed Fred behind me similarly frozen. I struggled to move, to take out my target and complete my mission. It was pointless. Then the note changed.

It dropped down low and rose slightly, but nowhere near as high as it had been. I felt my rifle fall from my hands and it was all I could do to keep standing. Then I realized I didn't want to keep standing. All I wanted to do was sleep. It didn't matter what was happening around me. An alarm went off in my head, but it faded as the note changed again.

This time it was a soothing pitch. I fell to the ground. It was very comfortable. I floated up and down on the waves as the song carried me up, very high up into the clouds and then down across the water.


	3. Questions

Once again, I found myself waking up in a new location. I was up on a high tree branch and tied tightly to the trunk. My jacket, boots, and ammo belt were missing. So were my weapons and other tools. All I had were my pants, T-shirt and socks. I was freezing and had no way to cut myself free. I searched the area for my captor. I saw a fire dancing warmly at the base of the tree. My things were in a pile next to it.

Suddenly, my captor swooped up to alight on my branch and I finally got a good look at my target. She was a teenage girl, maybe fifteen or sixteen years old. She was good looking, but her most distinctive feature was definitely her wings. They were very impressive. It was hard to tell the exact wingspan just then, but I later found out that they reached almost six meters when fully extended. The color was hard to place as the feathers reflected the light around, creating the illusion of a constantly changing pattern of multiple hues. It was mesmerizing.

Finally, I tore my gaze from her wings to her face. She looked young. She had a slightly faded sunburn that darkened her skin. Her hair was a dark blond and her eyes were hazel. She was sitting on the branch, dangling her legs over the edge and staring at me hard. She didn't strike me as angry, but she was definitely not happy. She just radiated a steely calm. I hate to admit it still, but she really unnerved me.

She stared at me a while longer, measuring me. Then she spoke. "Your name is Nathan Cortez. You have been sent by Baron Von Strucker to kill me. How did you find me?"

Her voice was soft, but strong and firm. It also had an almost hypnotic quality to it. I really wanted to answer her. I forgot how cold I was, how uncomfortable the branch was. I opened my mouth to answer and caught myself at the last second. I turned away from her and focused on a for off tree. She sighed.

"Look. I just want to be free again. To be a real person, not an experiment in a cage to be dissected daily and adjusted. Won't you just answer my question?" Her voice was even more enticing.

I gritted my teeth and turned to her. I had to force every word out past what my mouth wanted to say. "You are not a person. You are an experiment, not even human." At this point I was mostly trying to convince myself so I wouldn't help her. "My team will find you and we will kill you, 29."

She looked hurt. "How? I'm very careful. No one sees me." Her voice was so relaxing.

I couldn't stop myself that time. "Our satellites will find you as soon as you try to fly anywhere." So much for my self control.

She stood up. "Thank you, Nathan. And by the way," Her voice hardened. "My name is Alana. I'm not a number." She leaned off the branch and gracefully glided to the ground. As she did, I noticed her shirt was designed so it left her upper back open, giving her wings unrestricted movement. It also revealed the scars on her back from the multiple experiments she'd undergone for her wings. From what she had said, it didn't sound like she had volunteered either.

I leaned my head back against the tree and moaned quietly. I felt helpless and not just because I was tied up. Now I knew who my target was. A teenage girl trying to escape a cruel lab. A person and a young one at that. There was no way I could kill her which meant Hydra would kill me. And I was still freezing.

As the night went on, Alana put out the fire and laid down on a branch below me. Soon she appeared to be asleep. I watched her gently breathing and occasionally shifting her position to get more comfortable. I was unable to get to sleep in my position, so I just laid there and stared at the trees. I couldn't decide what to do. Maybe if I went back to Hydra and explained that my injuries had prevented me from overpowering her. I paused and looked down at my arm. The cut there was freshly bandaged and felt clean. So did the rest of them.

That did not help my decision at all. Despite my intentions toward her as a target and nothing more, Alana had not forgotten that I was a person and had made sure my injuries didn't get infected. I stared out at the trees again. There was no way I would get to sleep now.

In the morning, Alana went down to the river and caught a fish. She started the fire and cooked it. Once it was done, she brought it up to my branch and untied my hands enough that I could eat. I accepted my portion somewhat ashamedly and ate quietly. She remained on the branch to eat hers. I noticed she kept scratching her legs. I glanced down at the area between the fire and the river. There was quite a bit of stinging nettle there.

I looked at her. She appeared younger than before and exhausted from running. I swallowed the last of my fish.

"Alana?" I asked hesitantly. I had given it a lot of thought last night, but I still wasn't sure what I had decided about her. She looked over at me and I quickly looked down at my socked feet. "You know, if you can't find any banana slugs, swordfern is supposed to help. You know, with the itching."

I still wasn't able to meet her gaze. I don't know what it was about her. I'd been caught by one of my targets before, but I had escaped in an hour and brought back reinforcements. I'd finished that job too. I finished every job no matter who they were. They'd never become a person in my mind, just a job that needed to be done because, well, because those were my orders. Alana had changed that.

I finally looked up at Alana. She was still looking at me, but she didn't seem upset. "Why are you telling me that? I thought you didn't care about an experiment."

I met her eyes. "Because I realized that Hydra is wrong. You showed me that. Hydra tried to make their own rules, to decide what is right and wrong. The worst part is that I went along with it. That makes me the worst type of criminal." I took a deep breath. "I'm not going to finish my mission this time."

Alana looked at me uncertainly. She didn't seem sure how to take that. I didn't blame her. I wasn't entirely sure what I was doing either.

"Look. I don't expect you to trust me because clearly I can't even trust myself. For your own safety though, you need to get out of these woods. My team will start combing it for you soon. They will find you. You'll need to walk, not fly or the satellites will spot you. You need to get into a crowded city and cover your wings up. Get a trench coat or something. Are you even listening to me?"

She nodded absently as though deciding something. "You're telling the truth aren't you? You really mean what you said."

"Yes, but that's not the point. The point is you need to…"

"My point is that I don't know how to do any of that." She interrupted me. "I've been in a cell or on an operating table most of my life. I need someone who can help me and right now that list is painfully short." She leaned closer. "I know you'll be punished for failing if you go back to Hydra and if you really mean what you said then you can't go back to them anyway. Will you help me?" She looked at me anxiously.

"No. If I go with you, that makes two targets on one mission. You'll be in more danger." I responded. Although she did have a point.

"I know, but if you don't help me, I'll get caught. I don't know what to do to evade Hydra." She repeated. "And there are rumors that Hydra has control of S.H.I.E.L.D. If that's true, there's nowhere you or I can hide for long."

"Fine." I relented. Alana smiled and started untying me. "Although Hydra doesn't actually have complete control of S.H.I.E.L.D. yet, they will soon, so we have to move fast and dig deep. Once they have complete control, they'll find us." I paused. "Unless they don't." I stopped to think.

Alana looked confused. "What do you mean?" She finished untying me and sat back.

"If we can warn someone about Hydra's plan, they might be able to stop it." I answered her.

"Who would we tell? The military? The government? They'll all be compromised. Maybe Tony Stark?"

I shook my head. "No. Stark helped build the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarriers Hydra will be using. I don't know how much he might know. I was thinking Captain America, but he's almost always out on a mission now and it'd be almost impossible to meet with him without Hydra noticing."

"So what do we do? We can't just sit here and wait for this to blow over. It won't." Alana looked worried.

I smiled. "We'll go to Nick Fury."

Alana freaked. "What! That's your genius plan? Go to the head of the compromised agency that we need to stop?"

"Hear me out." I stopped her. "Yes. Fury is head of S.H.I.E.L.D., but he's not Hydra. Getting rid of him is part of their plan. He's the best one to go to. Plus, he's a spy. He probably goes to secret meetings with anonymous people every week. Hydra wouldn't notice anything out of the ordinary. And Fury can contact Captain America and other resources too."

"Ok, that makes more sense. How do we do it?" Alana looked ready to go now that we had a mission.

"First, we ensure we aren't being followed. Next we get disguises and head to D.C. Then we send a message to Fury, meet with him, explain what's going on and work with him from there. Sound good?"

Alana nodded. "Let's go."

We cleaned up the campsite, scattered the ashes from the fire and covered the burnt ground in wet leaves. I put my gear and boots back on and we headed off.


	4. Response

Baron von Strucker was not happy. He had lost Subject 31 now and Subject 29 was still free. He'd wanted her back yesterday. He had just received news that the forest were she had been was empty. The team assigned to catch her had told him this may mean one of their best men was helping her. Whether willingly or not, they weren't sure. Regardless, 29 had evaded them.

She and the twins were his best successes and he only had the twins now. They were getting restless as it was. If not for their hate of the Avengers, he was concerned they would have left with 29. The boy now refused to hold still for anything and he hated his small cell. The girl was becoming more destructive by the day. Whatever material she was given to practice manipulating inevitably became dust within hours. It was hard to find any scientist willing to work on either of them. The girl would terrify whoever tried to work with her and no one could get close enough to the boy to work on him.

At least the other research was going well. They were starting to understand more about Loki's staff. It was very powerful. None of that was as important as getting 29 back though. If she went to the Avengers, that could ruin everything.

Unless he could get Pierce to move the timeline up. Once they had control of S.H.I.E.L.D. he wouldn't need to worry. Von Strucker picked up his phone and dialed Pierce. The man picked up on the fourth ring.

"This is Pierce."

"Von Strucker. I am concerned by recent events on my end. Can we move up the timeline?"

"I can try. The plan is very delicate though. What are you concerned about?"

"Some agents have gone rogue. We don't know what their plans are. They may try to contact Fury."

"Alright. I'll move up the timeline, but I'll need an edge."

"Anything."

"Send me the Winter Soldier."


	5. Spy Games

I returned to the apartment where we were staying in Washington DC. I had gotten some trench coats for Alana. They were long enough to hide her wings when she folded them back. I had some other disguise necessities too. My main reason for going out was to spread word on the street that there was someone who needed to talk to Nick Fury. I figured the message would find him somehow, hopefully before Hydra.

I entered the small apartment and locked the door behind me. Alana was sprawled out on the couch, eating a nectarine and watching the window. She turned to look at me as I walked in. I held one of the coats out for her. She tried it on and frowned.

"It feels uncomfortable. Can't I fly at night? No one would see me." She pleaded. I couldn't blame her. She was literally made for the sky and open spaces. Still, it wasn't safe.

"No. Hydra would." I glanced out the window. "Look, tomorrow you can come with me into the city now that you have the coats. Your gift might come in handy."

I had learned more about Alana's talents during our journey. Her wings were the most obvious and were very strong. She could fly for days if necessary. She could also fold them up so that they only came down to her knees, but not for long. She started getting cramps if she held them there for over an hour. When she spread them out, they were magnificent. I still hadn't been able to place the color, though. They seemed a pearly white at night, but during the day, they'd be a different color every ten minutes. Most often it was a blue, though.

Alana's other ability was her voice. She was able to hypnotize people to some degree. She didn't know how much yet. She found it easiest to affect people when singing, but could also just speak and affect them. Since my interrogation, she hadn't purposely hypnotized me, but she still didn't have complete control over it. If she got upset, her voice would take on a melodic quality and I would just drift off. I had more than one bruise from walking into something.

I figured if she could get to me without trying, she could definitely get us some more food. I'd already used up all my cash and I was not going to use my credit card. That'd be like emailing my location to Hydra.

I turned to the kitchen and started heating up some canned soup for dinner. Alana and I split the can, then I collapsed on the couch and fell asleep. When I woke up, Alana was gone.

I rushed outside and scanned the skies. It was dusk, but she'd still be visible. I saw nothing. I glanced back inside and realized one of the coats was missing. I groaned.

A few minutes later, I was wandering down the street looking for her. After an hour, I gave up and went back to the apartment. I entered and almost slapped her. She was back on the couch as though she had never left, grinning at me.

"Where'd you go? I was really worried. Why did you leave?" I practically screamed at her.

She calmly waited until I was done, then replied. "I went to get more fruit. I ate all the nectarines yesterday. They're so good. Hydra never gave me anything as good as that."

I fell back into a seat and glared at her. I didn't know when it had happened, but I'd felt so responsible for her in that moment. As if she were the younger sister I'd never had. When she had been missing, I'd come very close to panicking. I shook my head. A week ago, I'd been assigned to kill her. Now I'd die before letting Hydra see her and it was not due to her hypnotic abilities at all.

I stood up and looked out the window. It was dark now, but clearly neither of us were tired. I considered heading back out, but decided against it. Instead, I pulled a pack of cards out of my pocket. They were my special cards, the only thing I had left from before I was Hydra.

I held them out to Alana. "Do you know how to play?"

She shook her head and I gestured for her to sit across from me on the carpet. I spent the night teaching her card games. Eventually, we settled on BS and played until morning, trying to bluff each other out. It was the most fun I'd had in years and probably the most fun Alana had ever had.

In the morning, I took some of the fruit Alana had gotten and made a fruit salad for breakfast. I sprinkled it lightly with sugar and set it on the table. Alana pulled out some disposable cups and spoons. It was delicious.

Finally, we left the apartment. Alana was clearly excited, but was trying not to let it show too much. After wandering a couple hours, we stopped by the apartment so she could stretch out her wings and we could eat lunch. Almost as soon as we headed back out, we were approached by a red headed woman.

"Hello, are you Christopher Lewis?" She asked me. I noticed she had a slight russian accent.

"I am." I used a british accent. "How may I help you?"

She smiled. "You've been asking to meet a friend of mine. Are you still interested?"

"Who would this friend be?" I replied. Alana was moving closer behind me. I motioned her to stay back in case this was a trap.

The woman caught the hand gesture and smiled again. "Well, I guess he's more my boss. If you want to meet him, there's a coffee shop off 23rd street. Be there at 1100 tomorrow. Be sure to ask him where he gets his stylish headgear from. He'll tell you it's custom made, but only for select people." The woman turned and walked off.

I repeated everything she had said to myself under my breath to make sure I'd remember. Alana waited next to me. I looked up at her and grinned.

"Well, how do you feel about going out for lunch tomorrow?" I asked.

 **Thank you to all my readers! Please review and let me know how you really like or don't like my story.**

 **I will be gone for the weekend, but I will post another chapter on Tuesday.**


	6. The Meeting

We were waiting at the cafe. We had been there for about ten minutes now and I had checked the area for quick escape routes that did not involve flying. Fury would be arriving any minute now. I had Alana sitting a couple tables away in case something went wrong.

I glanced over at her now. She was sitting calmly, watching the street and drinking some sort of fruit smoothie. She looked over at me and raised an eyebrow. I quickly turned back to the street. I was actually very nervous. Most of my espionage experience up to this point had consisted of me eliminating spies. Now I was on the other side.

I noticed a dark man with reflective sunglasses and a baseball cap of some obscure sports team coming toward my table. I looked over at Alana again. She was thinking the same as me. It had to be Nick Fury. He just had a dangerous air around him. Not something you'd notice if you weren't familiar with it, but definitely there.

" _We're committed now."_ I tipped my drink back and swallowed the rest, trying to restore some moisture to my mouth. The man went to the counter and ordered something. He turned and walked to a table. He sat down and pulled out a newspaper. I got up and walked over to him.

"Excuse me. I was just wondering where you got your stylish headgear from." I asked.

He looked at me and replied. "Oh, it's custom made only for select people." He set down the newspaper. "Are you Christopher Lewis?"

I nodded. "That's me. Pleasure to meet you, Fury."

"Have a seat." He invited. "I understand you have something for me. Why?"

"Yes, information you need. Call it a guilty conscience." I took a deep breath. "I can't stay long and I know you have no reason to trust me, so I'm going to have to make it quick and it's going to sound crazy. S.H.I.E.L.D. has been infiltrated and you're all being used for something. I don't know it all, but it has to do with Project Insight. I advise shutting it down."

Fury looked suspicious at that. I continued quickly. "Again, I know you have no reason to trust me. There's proof of everything I told you on a ship, the Lemurian Star. If you just try to inspect it, they'll wipe the info. You need to get on there some other way."

Fury held up his hand. "Alright, hold on now. That's a whole lot of conspiracy theory." He leaned forward. "Why should I take any of this seriously? Maybe you just want Project insight shut down for your own reasons. I haven't seen anything to suggest S.H.I.E.L.D. has been infiltrated and you haven't even told me who by."

"I know. They've been careful. I know it has been because I used to be a part of it. It's…" I stopped. I wanted to deny any sort of affiliation with Hydra. I definitely did not want to admit being Hydra. I forced myself to finish the sentence, but the words never made it out because the table next to us exploded.

Once again, splinters and glass were raining down on me. A shard of glass cut my neck and something warm started running down from it. I shook off the shock and grabbed Fury. He had the metal leg of a chair embedded in his thigh and it was bleeding fast. Alana appeared next to me. We started to the door, but dropped down as our table blew up.

Fires started at all the doors and windows. It spread quickly, enveloping the walls around us. It was too fast and widespread to be natural, which meant even if we did get out of the collapsing building there were people, most likely snipers, ready outside to finish the job.

I turned to Alana and shouted over the flames. "Get Fury to the Triskelion. Go!" I bent over coughing from the smoke. I looked up at her. She was saying something, but I was too dizzy to understand. The fire and smoke were spreading unnaturally fast. I pointed up and yelled. "I'll be fine. Go now!" Then I turned away.

A strong breeze told me she had listened. Now I had to get out. The one problem was there was nowhere to go. I tried to move, but fell. I couldn't breathe. The last thing I saw was a metal arm grabbing me.

 **Sorry the chapter's so short. I will post another one soon.**

 **Let me know what you think in the reviews!**


	7. Welcome back

I opened my eyes and immediately shut then again as a wave of pain crashed through my head. Slower this time, I looked around me and wished I hadn't. I was in a dark cell. It was cold, slightly damp, stank, and there were spots of a dried red substance on the walls. Screams of pain echoed down the hall outside the door.

" _Oh, great. This is really inviting."_ I was only slightly impressed. It was a Hydra interrogation cell and sure, it was a little intimidating. I knew the play. Stick the prisoner in a threatening and forbidding cell, torture them after a few days of starving and isolation, usually they break quickly. I had no intention of following the norm.

Three days later, a man entered my cell. The first human being I had seen yet. He was wearing a balaclava, but his eyes were visible. They were cold and merciless. He pulled out a wicked looking instrument and yanked me to my feet. I was too weak from hunger to even stand on my own by that point. He pressed me against the wall. I stared straight ahead and kept my mouth shut.

I'd lost track of time, but it was after the interrogator's third visit. I was laying in the corner where he had left me yesterday. I hadn't even had the strength to move to the door for the so called food that was slid under it everyday.

A new person came in and sat across from me. I had been expecting this for days. The one who would want to help me, to make it stop. All I had to do was tell him where Alana was and what we had told Fury. I knew it was coming, but that didn't make it any easier to say no once he started talking.

"Nathan, right? You don't look too good." He handed me a cup. "It's just some orange juice. I promise. Nothing else."

I stared at the orange liquid. It took all my willpower to turn away. I was still refusing to even open my mouth, so I didn't reply. He sighed and continued.

"Ok. My name's Carson, by the way. Carson Gregouto." He held out his hand. I still ignored him. I knew if I acknowledged him or listened too closely, I'd probably cave. He knew it too. "Look, I'm your only friend now. Maybe that mutant freak was close to you, but she obviously didn't care that much. She hasn't come for you. You're still here."

"Good. Then you can't hurt her." I mentally kicked myself and shut my mouth. " _Say one thing, Nate, and you'll say something else after. Just shut up! Great, I'm yelling at myself now."_ I almost laughed out loud, but it hurt. I closed my eyes and let Carson keep talking. He drifted into the background as I finally got a chance to sleep for the first time in days.

Some days later, after alternating visits from Carson and Balaclava, I was still holding out. It helped that I almost literally couldn't speak by then. I was kind of in a daze all the time now. The only thing I was aware of was that I had to keep my mouth closed. Carson was just leaving my cell when I heard music. It was beautiful in a dark haunting way. Carson dropped like a rock.

Alana stepped over him and knelt by me. She had her wings spread out so she looked like an angel. I was so delirious I thought I was dead. She lifted me up, someone was screaming, and the world went black.

I opened my eyes. It was early morning. Sunlight was gently teasing through gauzy curtains. I could smell bacon and eggs frying and I was laying on a very comfortable sofa. I sat up in shock.

"This is definitely not my cell." I announced. "And I am still talking to myself. Hello? Is anyone home?"

Alana poked her head around a corner. "Hey! You're finally awake. I was getting worried." She ducked back and walked out with a plate. "Hungry?"

"Oh yes." Was all I could manage. She handed the plate to me and sat down. She had to tell me to slow down a couple times. I still finished quickly and had to sit back as my stomach adjusted to having real food again.

"Well, I got Fury to the Triskelion like you told me. Then I went to the apartment to meet you, but you weren't there. I waited for a couple hours and you still didn't show up. It was nighttime by then, so I flew out to look for you and I still couldn't find you. I ended up going to Fury. He was organizing a raid/rescue on the Lemurian Star. When I told him you'd been captured, he took this archer guy of the team and told him to find you." She explained.

"Wait. Archer guy? As in Clint Barton? Fury just decided to assign Clint Barton to you?" I asked incredulously.

"Well, you know how persuasive I can be." Alana replied sheepishly. "Anyway, it took us about a week, but we found you. Then he and I broke in and got you out. He brought us here. Said it's one of his personal safe houses. While we were rescuing you, Captain America and some others took down Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. Fury's supposed to have assassinated, but I don't know if I believe it. After all, our warning gave him plenty of time to prepare for something like that." She stopped for breath. "Anyway, Barton says we can stay here. He's planning to retire in the near future, so he won't need it."

"So we're safe for now." I laughed. "Yes! Is there more bacon?"

A few days later, I was completely healed and sitting on the porch of our new house. Alana was soaring around, kicking a ball in mid air and catching it before it hit the ground. No one had come looking for us, but I was keeping up on target practice anyway. It never hurt to be ready.

Alana was more open with me now and vice versa. She was the closest I had to any family now. I was the only family she could ever remember having. Sometimes Barton came by to check on us. A couple times Romanoff came too. They kept trying to get us to join the Avengers, but Alana and I had agreed to stay in hiding for now. So the two didn't tell anyone about us, not even the other Avengers, but they still kept offering.

Maybe someday.

 **Thank you to all readers and reviewers! I hope you enjoyed it.**

 **I am considering writing a sequel. Let me know if I should.**


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